Madness is a term for someone who is mentally ill, whose mind was failing due to age, or who suffers from the effects of Sin (or an unwillingness to address his sinful ways). "Madness", while not a criminal offense, was often historically dealt with by various governments by simply putting people away in "madhouses" or asylums. By and large, this practice has been changed worldwide, and those with mental illness are more carefully diagnosed for particular causes, and treated with medication, therapy, counseling, spiritual advice or other appropriate remedies.

Madness as this non diagnosed generic "illness" was often used as a way for families to hide shameful members of their families, including pregnant unmarried women, homosexuals, women who wanted to speak their minds (in eras where it was deemed unacceptable to do so), pagan relatives, etc.